Just This Once
by SushiBomb
Summary: Ren absolutely hated the drunken affection that seemed to take hold of everyone during the holidays, but then, and only then, would he ever allow Yoh to see that side of him. Yaoi.Yoh/Ren pairing. Gift-fic for Musard. Enjoy!


Extremely late gift-fic for my darling friend and beta-reader, Musard. I hope you like it!

Also, this is my first official Shaman King fanfic, and mind you, I haven't read the manga in a loooong time, so I hope my characterization, etc. is decent.

Rated for yaoi, content and themes. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King. *shrug*

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><p>Just This Once<p>

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><p>Christmas night at the Funbari Onsen was just like any other night, minus the festive tension that hung in the air. The normally rambunctious household was so alive with holiday spirit, or, as Yoh liked to call it, "the oversoul of Christmas Cheer", that by Christmas Eve, Ren was about ready to move back to China just to rid himself of the image of Ryu's chest hair shaved into the shape of a christmas tree.<p>

What made that particular incident even worse, to Ren, was the fact that Ryu was so obnoxiously proud of it, and much to Ren's (among others) immense displeasure, Ryu did not fight his apparent need to wander about shirtless even more than he usually did.

The residents (and Anna would argue the relativity of the term 'residents') of the Funbari Onsen were a questionable bunch on a regular day, but Ren decided enough was enough when Horo-Horo whipped out the mistletoe. The blue-haired shaman had a suspiciously giddy light in his eyes the entire time, a giddiness that, unfortunately, quickly spread throughtout the room. First to Joco, and from Joco it bounced to Ryu, and it all went downhill from there.

Yoh, in particular, was one who was a bit too affectionate at times, despite being betrothed to Anna. Of course, she was the first to be grabbed by the waist and smooched, which naturally earned him a sound slap on the cheek, since Anna was vehemently opposed to any sort of public display of affection. Manta got a big, wet peck on the cheek; same with Horo and Joco. Tamao was the blushing recipient of a warm and slightly lingering peck on the lips, to which Anna only smirked at and walked out of the room.

She knew of Tamao's adoration for not only Yoh, but also herself, and she also understood better than anyone Yoh's thoughts on love and human sexuality; thoughts that mirrored hers perfectly. She and Yoh would always be one, in mind, body, and spirit, and their love was one that was all encompassing; it was felt by everyone in the household, like a silent, breathy whisper that lingered on the shell of your ear and made you shiver from the warmth that crept through your body.

Ren himself never quite grasped the concept of pansexuality, even less so when Yoh actually attempted to explain it to him. The Chinese shaman didn't get how you could simply 'love everything,' but then again, Yoh was so passively passionate about pretty much everything that, in that respect, Ren realized the idea fit Yoh's character to a T.

But even so, as soon as Yoh made his appearance in the room, Ren strategically made a beeline for the exit. Yoh's affectionate nature tended to rub off on the others, and Ren would be damned if he ended up being smothered by Ryu's pompadour again, like last year. He chalked it up mainly to them being older, and consequently more hormonal, but the Funbari Onsen often felt a bit too sexually charged a place for his personal comfort, especially when holidays and alcohol were involved (the two very things that lead to the massive kissing-fest that was currently taking place in the main room, naturally).

The Chinese shaman currently sat in the refuge of the cover provided by the natural hot springs of the inn, the steam rising from the water in thin tendrils that swirled about his body and made Tao Ren melt back into the small pool until only his head was visible. It was chilly out that night, but nothing the tepid water of the hot spring couldn't combat.

He could just make out the raucous laughter of the others from inside the house; it seemed that they had made Faust the butt of some joke yet again which, to Ren, seemed like quite a foolish thing to do, considering that Faust, even though he hid it very well behind that cheerful and eager-to-help disposition, was one of the most homicidal and vindictive shamans he had ever met.

Or maybe that was just a necromancer thing. He _was_ declared clinically insane by the German authorities, after all. Ren supposed that for Horo's sake, it was very lucky that Eliza was right by her husband's side to quell his murderous tendencies.

"…Morons…" He chided quietly as he laid his head back against one of the many smooth stones that decorated the edge of the spring, his dark hair slightly damp. If there was one thing he loved about the onsen, it was that at night, when the noise and lights of the city died down, the stars were so clear in the sky that Ren could make out all of the constellations that loomed over Japan.

Despite the obnoxious voices of Horo-Horo and the others lingering in his ear, Ren allowed himself a small sigh of contentment, his amber eyes sliding shut. After a few minutes, Ren felt himself nodding off, the warmth of the hot spring enveloping him in a thick blanket that numbed his entire body and sent his mind spiraling into a dreamlike haze.

"I thought I'd find you out here."

Ren's eyes immediately snapped open.

So much for _that_.

The Chinese shaman tilted his head back to look behind him. Yoh was standing a few feet away, smiling amiably, a jug of hot sake in one hand, and two cups in the other. Despite the chill in the air, Yoh was still wandering around bare-chested and grinning, and in shorts and sandals, no less.

Ren rolled his eyes.

Even after all of these years, Yoh was still a bit of an airhead. An airhead who was apparently impervious to the cold, if Yoh slipping off his sandals and dipping his feet in the water, despite the frigid temperature, was anything to go by.

"Nice breeze out tonight, huh?" He began quietly, a small, peaceful smile on his face. Ren gave him a half-lidded glare, still too relaxed to put more force into it. "It's going to snow later Yoh…this is what you consider a 'nice breeze'?"

As expected, Yoh simply shrugged, laughing good-naturedly. "Well to be honest, this is nothing compared to back home in Izumo, so yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Mmm..." Ren murmured as he closed his eyes and resumed his lounging. The two sat in relatively comfortable silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. After a few minutes, Yoh began chuckling to himself.

"What are laughing about?" Ren snapped thickly, his voice still heavy with sleepiness. Yoh just continued giggling to himself, scratching at his cheek. "It's nothing, really…just…"

At that, Ren turned to face him. "Just what?"

"I can't help but laugh every time you run away from us, you know, when Horo gets drunk and brings out the mistletoe. The look on your face is hilarious."

Ren scoffed. "Well I don't know about you, Yoh, but I don't particularly like the idea of being assaulted by a hoard of drunken, horny shamans."

Yoh gave him a slightly put-off look. "But I'm not drunk. More like…pleasantly buzzed."

Ren's eyes immediately floated to the jug of sake sitting between them, just behind his head. "And by the looks of it, it seems you plan to make that 'buzz' even _more_ pleasant, hmm?"

Yoh just grinned and poured himself a glass. "Yep." He said with a chuckle before taking a sip.

"Want one?" He asked good-naturedly as he poured a second cup.

Ren clicked his tongue in mild irritation, before finally shrugging with a resigned sigh. "What the hell." He said before accepting the other glass and downing it in one gulp.

"That went down very smoothly." He said offhandedly.

"Yeah, isn't it great? We all chipped in some money and got the best sake they had." Yoh said excitedly. Despite himself, Ren held out his glass. "In that case, I suppose I could take one more glass, if you would, please."

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><p>"I think everyone's asleep already…" Yoh murmured some time later.<p>

Ren sat next to him, his eyes half-lidded with drowsiness, the sake finally kicking in. The now empty jug of sake, as well as Yoh's clothes, lay behind them, completely forgotten.

After the fifth or perhaps sixth shot of sake, Yoh finally succumbed to the enticing warmth of the water and joined Ren in spring. Much to Yoh's surprise, Ren made for great company when he was completely plastered; he wasn't giggly or anything, but that was a trait that Yoh would have honestly found a bit creepy for someone like Tao Ren.

Ren was, however, much more open with a fair amount of alcohol in his system.

The two sat in the spring well into the odd hours of the morning, talking about this and that, and behind that arrogant, power-hungry façade, Yoh found that Ren was quite an intellectual person. Not that he hadn't been aware of that before; Ren had proven his intelligence many times throughout the time they had known each other, but this was a different sort of intellect. A more human, worldly sort of intellect.

Yoh was sure that the two of them had never sat down and had the obligatory 'deep and meaningful conversation' before now, and he certainly never imagined that when they did, the two of them would be completely intoxicated.

But, Yoh decided, it had been a good idea to bring the sake out with him after all, or he might have never seen this side of Ren.

The Chinese shaman had a rather fascinating view of the world when he spoke with alcohol in his blood; Yoh found himself almost hanging on every uninhibited word and thought that floated out of Ren's mouth. Ren was a wordy drunk, it seemed, but not excessively so.

Wordy for _Ren_, more accurately.

The dark-haired shaman was once again reclining against one of the many large boulders that lined the spring, his cat-like eyes half-lidded and yet oddly aglow with a sort of drunken cordiality as he spoke quietly about a moment in time long ago, back in his homeland.

And as Ren relayed his hazy reverie, Yoh found that in that moment, Ren was undoubtedly the most erotic creature he had ever laid eyes on. He had always thought of Ren as attractive, ever since they had become reluctant friends and allies when they were younger. But it had always been a different sort of attraction; much different from the kind of attraction he felt for Anna or any of the others.

Anna was his woman, his betrothed, proud and independent, who stood by him through every trial and tribulation and shaped his very being. But behind closed doors, she would give herself to him completely, putting up little resistance when Yoh would tug the sash of her yukata off and let it fall to the floor, leaving her nude before him.

He had every inch of her body committed to memory; he knew the meaning behind every touch, every look, every slap to the face, every word, every gasp, every moan, every arch of her slender body against his when they made love. But it was in their most intimate moments when Anna revealed the most hidden facets of herself, as the girl who was brought back from the edge of despair. She clung to Yoh, her lover and savior, even long after they finished.

For the man who dared to love her, even in her darkest moments, she would submit herself entirely. And Yoh would welcome every part of her without question.

Tamao was the same. She had adored Yoh since childhood, and that adoration was one of the few constants in their life. And on those rare nights when she would join Yoh and Anna, as a lover, she gave herself with the same proud love that Anna would.

He cared deeply for the others as well; they were his friends and fellow shamans, and despite the untold numbers of trials they had all endured together, they came out stronger than ever, and Yoh knew theirs was a bond that could never be broken. Ren was most certainly included in that sentiment, since their journey in particular had been a turbulent one. Ren strayed from the path many times in his quest for strength, and that struggle helped shape him into the powerful shaman he was today. He was Yoh's friend and ally, and he was a proud bearer of that title, even though he'd sooner disembowel himself than admit that out loud.

But in this moment, and whether it was the alcohol or not he was unsure, Yoh found that he just couldn't tear his eyes away from Ren, not even for a second. Ren was still talking, unaware that Yoh had been staring at him quite intently for the duration of his reverie, his dark eyes trained on the taut muscles of his neck, which was fully exposed to Yoh's eyes. Time had been good to Tao Ren, as it had been with most of them.

He was taller now, even though Yoh and many of the others still stood several inches above him. And years of martial arts and Shamanic training had kept him in perfect condition. Ren was lean, almost like a whip, and he moved like one too.

But what Yoh found most enticing about Ren was that feral look the Chinese shaman always had in his eyes. Ren was an unstoppable force from the moment they laid eyes on each other, fearing nothing and bowing to no one. He was wild, and yet completely controlled, cruel and arrogant, and fought with one goal in mind: to be the best. Of course, that attitude of his mellowed out over the years, but Ren still maintained that quiet superciliousness about him. And it shone proudly in his eyes.

But seeing him like this; with his guard down and completely sluggish, almost giddy, a whole new side to Ren, had Yoh unconsciously moving closer to him.

Ren, who had apparently finished his story in the time Yoh had been staring, yawned and stretched against the boulder like a lazy jungle cat waking up from its nap, and in seeing that unknowingly lascivious display of sexuality, Yoh suddenly felt a bit warm in the face. He took in the sight of the other shaman's strong arms and chest, lingering just above the water. Down below, he could only imagine the rest of Ren's body, from the perfectly defined abs that Ren took an absurd amount of pride in maintaining, to the yin-yang tattoo that covered the expanse of his back, to his…his…

"What are you doing?" Ren asked suddenly, snapping Yoh out of his thoughts. He found himself face to face with Ren, who was looking at him oddly. More accurately, he found himself nearly straddling him, his lips hovering just inches away from Ren's.

"Well," Yoh began, "I don't really know, to be honest." He said quietly, but made no effort to move. The two sat staring at each other for several seconds, completely silent. As the seconds turned into minutes, the two drifted closer, until their bare chests were touching. Ren felt Yoh's hand creep slowly up his arm and over his neck, his own hand almost reflexively wrapping around Yoh's back to pull him closer.

"…Yoh…" Ren whispered.

"Hmmm?" Yoh murmured back as he leaned in and nipped at Ren's bottom lip teasingly.

"…Just this once, I'll allow this…." He said before closing the gap between them. Despite his mind telling him to shove Yoh away, Ren felt his eyes slide shut as Yoh's hand found its way into his hair, tugging the dark strands gently as he slanted his lips skillfully against Ren's.

It was dead silent around them, save for the laughter and loud voices of their teammates back in the house, as well as the soft clicking of their lips as they parted and met.

Yoh pulled away after a moment, his eyes aglow with something Ren couldn't quite place a name to at that point. His eyes followed a stray rivulet of water that was running down from Yoh's hair and down his neck. Without thinking, he leaned in and licked up the taut trail, his drunken mind not registering any feeling but the feeling of Yoh's warm skin under his tongue, his lips against Yoh's neck, and the way Yoh gasped his name at the unexpectedly forward action.

"Whoa, Ren…" Yoh said, panting lightly. Ren said nothing in response, instead offering an unapologetic smirk before grabbing Yoh around the waist and attacking his neck with more fervor. They sat in the middle of the onsen for what felt like an eternity, Yoh held tight in Ren's grip as the other nipped and kissed at his neck, chest and collarbone.

Ren, of course, was immediately subjected to the exact same treatment. Yoh seemed to have a knack for figuring people out, so he supposed it was only natural for Yoh to be able to deduce many of his numerous erogenous zones in the span of a few minutes. Yoh's lips and occasionally teeth were focused on the column of skin from the back of the ear to the junction where Ren's neck met his shoulder, while one hands was occupied with tracing the outline of the tattoo that covered Ren's back, the other entangled in Ren's wet hair.

Suddenly, Yoh wriggled out of Ren's ever-slackening grasp and pushed him against the boulder he had been lounging on previously. He smiled as he cupped Ren's face and leaned in again, kissing Ren with an intensity that insinuated that this was more than a drunken moment of passion. Ren felt himself drowning in the feeling of Yoh's hands roving over his body as he deepened the kiss, his head tilting slightly to the side. Ren licked at Yoh's bottom lip, asking for entrance, which he was quickly granted.

Pleasantly enough, Yoh was much more interested in simply tasting Ren and acquainting himself with the warm cavern of his mouth than completely dominating the kiss. Their tongues met more than once, and Ren found that he rather enjoyed the almost indolent way Yoh would swirl his tongue around his own before pulling away, forcing Ren to move with him and coax that wonderfully skilled muscle back out to play.

After several minutes, the two finally parted, Yoh pulling away with a satisfied grin and Ren smirking, feeling oddly pleased.

"You know Ren, I can't say that was the reaction I was expecting." Yoh said earnestly as he sat next to Ren, who had taken his original seat against the boulder.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked as he resumed his relaxation, licking his lips as he closed his eyes.

"I was sure that you'd threaten me for coming on to you like that. I'm a little shocked, actually. I guess that sake really threw you out of wack."

At that, Ren simply chuckled. "I'm not that drunk, you moron."

Yoh's eyes widened in shock. "Really? So you really let me…"

Ren cracked an eye open, folding his arms over his chest as he smirked teasingly. "I'll admit, I lost myself for a minute, and I suppose the sake was a big part of it, but…"

"…But?"

"It was mainly because I was trying to understand something."

Yoh looked at him curiously. "What?"

"You, Yoh. I was trying to understand you."

Ren sighed in mild frustration as he reached behind him, feeling around for his towel.

"Even after so long, you're the only one in the bunch that I've never been able to completely pin down. You still manage to shock me, and sometimes I find myself wondering how the hell you manage to do that. You are a complete mystery to me, Yoh Asakura, and I _hate_ that about you."

With that, Ren climbed out of the spring, quickly wrapping his towel around his waist before turning in the direction of the house.

"Hey, Ren?" He heard Yoh call softly from behind him. Ren turned back to face Yoh, who was still in the spring, reclining in the very spot that Ren had claimed as his for most of the night.

"What?"

"Just so you know, you manage to surprise me a lot too. I really like this side of you. You know, completely unguarded for once. I'm not gonna wish for you to be like this all the time, because then it won't matter as much anymore. But I have to say, horny and uninhibited is a great look for you." Yoh finished with a big grin.

He promptly received a sandal in the face and string of chinese obscenities in his ear.

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><p>I hope I did alright :D<p>

Tell me what you thought! Read 'n' Review!


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